DUI Defenses

Published on: April 7, 2014

Should Certain Los Angeles DUI Offenders Be Punished Much More Harshly Than Others?

Are all Los Angeles DUI offenders equal?

Obviously, the simple answer is no. For instance, let’s say you just got pulled over at a checkpoint. A police officer gave you both breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. You failed both. Now, you face a misdemeanor charge of violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152.

Alternatively, let’s say you hurt somebody while committing the same crime. Suddenly, you face charges under a different law – felony charges! – per California Vehicle Code Section 23153. There are other ways the law slices and dices DUI offenders. The law stipulates different punishments, depending:

•   If you were under age when you got behind the wheel while DUI;
•   If you’re a repeat offender (the law suggests more intense punishments for second and third time recidivists);
•   If you committed additional crimes while DUI, such as hit and run, battery against a police officer, etcetera;
•   If you were egregiously over the legal limit.

But are these classifications “fine grained” enough? More to the point: might there be certain classes of offenders who should be punished far more harshly than “standard” Los Angeles DUI offenders?

For instance – and we’ve all seen drivers like this – but let’s say you see a 19-year-old kid in a hot rod car speeding while likely DUI on the 405. He cuts across 4 lanes of traffic and nearly causes four wrecks before police pull him over. He behaves extremely aggressively/recklessly/obnoxiously. In an ideal world, perhaps the 19-year-old should lose his license for ten years and be forced to write handwritten apologies to everyone he almost killed.

Obviously, that wouldn’t/shouldn’t happen. But that’s the gut reaction many of us have, when we see drivers behaving super obnoxiously: “that guy should have his license taken away forever and should be thrown in jail, just for being a jerk.”

We’ve all had those thoughts – even people who defend DUI drivers for a living!

The question is: is there scientific merit to such thinking? Are superb obnoxious drivers, for instance, more likely to get into injury crashes? If we could catalogue drivers in a more fine grained way, could we come up with more appropriate punishments for certain crimes? Even if we COULD slice and dice the galaxy of offenders like that, would we really want to? Practically speaking, this strategy would open up a whole raft of moral and legal questions.

The problem is inherently complicated and messy – and that’s the point of this thought exercise. Dealing with DUI is an inherently messy exercise. The law cannot foresee every situation, nor spell out every contingency plan. And that’s why it’s so important for a defendant to work with a seasoned Los Angeles DUI lawyer. You need to stay on track and avoid getting confused or misled.

If you haven’t already retained an attorney, call Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to explore your defense options. Mr. Kraut is a seasoned former prosecutor; he can help you come to terms with your charges and get excellent results.
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Published on: April 1, 2014

New Book Challenges Validity of Los Angeles DUI Treatment Methods

by Michael Kraut

If you’re arrested and convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, you can face a gallery of potential punishments, including but not limited to:

•   DUI alcohol school;
•   Fines and fees;
•   Jail time;
•   Mandatory driver’s license suspension;
•   Mandatory installation of IID device in your car (which prevents you from driving unless you blow a “non-alcoholic breath” into a machine);
•   Harsh probation terms.

A standard remedy in DUI cases is rehab. The court can mandate that you enter rehabilitation to “get sober” and stop being a danger to the society.

12-step programs are ubiquitous in California. But they are surprisingly far less effective than the conventional wisdom would have you believe, at least according to Harvard University psychiatrist, Dr. Lance Dodes, author of the controversial but compelling new book, The Sober Truth.

Dr. Dodes (who co-wrote the book with his son, Zachary) argues that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has a success rate of only 5% to 10%. Astonishingly, most rehab facilities do not keep track of recidivism rates beyond a year.

The Dodeses provide compelling research that suggests that 12-step approach just doesn’t work for 90% of the people who enter the program. Nevertheless, AA remains the “standard candle” — the default treatment for alcoholism in our society. The Dodeses argue that other treatment methods have had far higher success rates — yet public health authorities don’t seem to care.

In fact, even though AA does work for 5-10% of people, 5-10% of alcoholics will spontaneously get better without ANY intervention. In other words, at least statistically speaking, AA treatment appears to be the equivalent of no treatment at all.

Dr. Dodes offers his own pet theory about what really causes addiction, which he details in another book, The Heart of Addiction. His central thesis is that addiction is a kind of compulsion – it’s not a “brain disease” caused by malfunctioning dopamine signaling, as some conventional experts suggest, but rather a psychological phenomenon.

To illustrate his point, Dr. Dodes points out that addicts often “feel better” the moment they make the decision to drink – NOT when the alcohol actually touches their lips. This evidence suggests that psychology is key to the process.

He also points out that, during the 1960s, many U.S. service personnel stationed in Vietnam became addicted to heroin – one of the most physically addicting drugs on Earth. When these soldiers returned from war, most quit heroin easily. Most “domestic” heroin addicts, by contrast, had (and still have) a horrible recidivism rate. Dr. Dodes suggests that this evidence again shows that the problem in alcoholism is fundamentally psychological: soldiers in Vietnam used the heroin to stave off feelings of helplessness caused by the fighting. Once they returned to a normal environment — no more fighting — they felt back in control of their lives and found that they could quit easily. The stimulus causing helplessness was no longer there.

Dr. Dodes’s research and thinking is obviously very stimulating. But if you have been arrested for Los Angeles DUI, you have more serious, practical considerations than understanding the nature of addiction. To that end, consider calling former Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free consultation about your case.
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Published on: March 31, 2014

Did LAPD Officer Use Excessive Force in DUI Arrest Against 25-Year-Old Woman?

by Michael Kraut

Twenty five-year-old Aloni Bonilla was arrested for DUI in Los Angeles back in 2012 on the westbound 10 freeway. But did the officer who slammed her head into a wall use excessive force?

Bonilla just filed a federal lawsuit against Officer Jose A. Ramirez for violating her civil rights during the DUI arrest. According to reports, Bonilla had been driving from Baldwin Park to Alhambra to visit a friend. Due to unclear signage, she wound up on a shut down part of the 10 near the Francisquito Avenue onramp. An officer pulled over on suspicion of DUI and gave her a breathalyzer test, which suggested that she had alcohol in her system. He then took her to a local hospital for a DUI blood test.

The Cal State Los Angeles student said that Officer Ramirez became violent at the hospital: “He grabbed me by my arm, lifted me out of my chair, turned me around and slammed — drilling it — my head into the wall. On the wall was a mounted object, and the left side of my face immediately started to bleed and swell.” She claimed that Ramirez then radioed that she was resisting arrest, he used a knee to hold down her back and then cuffed her. She said “I’m 120 pounds, this is a 220 pound, 6-foot male Latino officer … I was never given medical treatment, I never got that blood sample.”

Aloni lost her DUI case, in spite of video evidence that showed the entire handcuffing process unfold. The Los Angeles County Superior Court judge did not allow the footage to be used in her case because prosecutor said that it was prejudiced against Ramirez.

However, the surveillance video went up on YouTube and sparked a wave of sympathy for Aloni, prompting protestors to petition outside a federal court house with signs that read “stop police brutality” and “justice for Aloni.” Bonilla told reporters last week: “This is bigger issue … I want the public to know that resisting arrest can be used as a cover up charge when an officer uses excessive force.”

It’s obviously unclear how Bonilla will fare in her lawsuit, but her story drives home how confounding and complex the DUI defense process can be. If an officer does exert excessive force, how can you prove it? In Bonilla’s case, even though she had video proof of what happened to her, she still couldn’t win her DUI case.

To construct an appropriate defense, talk to Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. For over 14 years, Mr. Kraut served as a senior level prosecutor for the city before switching over to representing defendants in Los Angeles DUI cases. Continue reading

Published on: March 26, 2014

Private Eye Accused of Playing Role in Fake Los Angeles DUI Case Takes the 5th Amendment… 200+ Times on Witness Stand!

by Michael Kraut

It’s potentially one the most bizarre Los Angeles DUI trials of 2014…

A Riverside Private Eye, Chris Lanzillo, has taken the 5th Amendment (to avoid self-incrimination under oath) over 200 times in a recent deposition.

Lanzillo stands accused of following Jim Righeimer, the Mayor of Costa Mesa, back in 2012, and calling in a fake DUI report on him. The lawsuit says the PI tailed the mayor, called 911, and reported that the mayor had been driving erratically and weaving around. Lanzillo was working for the Costa Mesa Police Association, which had been in a major kerfuffle with Mayor Righeimer and his City Council.

Critics believe that Lanzillo – backed by the Police Association — engaged in an illegal smear campaign. Righeimer’s successor, Mayor Pro Tem, Steve Mensinger, says that someone also put a GPS device on his vehicle, when he ran for election.

An attorney representing the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem expressed his disgust with the whole situation: “It is very disturbing when any organization associated with law enforcement refuses to answer questions under oath on the grounds that the answer may incriminate them.”

The deposition of Lanzillo lasted a full three hours, and he took the 5th 200 times. That means that, on average, Lanzillo took the 5th more than **once a minute for three hours in a row**.

The Costa Mesa Police Union, meanwhile, denies the knowledge of the false DUI and instead places blame on a law firm it hired – Lackie Dammeier McGill & Ethir – which has since been dissolved. The firm had a reputation for representing police associations in a very aggressive manner.

Who knows how the trial down in Costa Mesa will turn out? It’s interesting to consider, and it does teach us that DUI cases can easily devolve into a situation of “he said, she said.”

How does anyone really know what happened during a DUI arrest (or accident) in an objective way? The answer is that objective fact finding is hard! An accident reconstruction expert – who is familiar with DUI crashes – should get involved, ASAP, and identify what happened prior to the collision. For instance, was the crash unavoidable, or did human error or negligence play some role? The analyst should also look at the mechanical condition of the vehicles involved, weather, traffic and lighting that may have been relevant, and road conditions.

To construct your Los Angeles DUI defense effectively, connect with Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers immediately for a free consultation. Continue reading

Published on: March 24, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Crash: Police Officer Arrested in Diamond Bar After He Crashes into McDonald’s Drive Through

by Michael Kraut

Some disturbing Los Angeles DUI news: An LAPD officer, 29-year-old Jonathan Chel of Fullerton, was arrested on Friday, after he slammed his car into a McDonald’s drive through in Diamond Bar while DUI.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Chel had been exiting the 60 freeway at Golden Spring’s Drive at around 1 in the morning, when his Mazda slipped off the exit ramp, “launched” across a 50-foot gulf, crashed the McD’s, and finally stopped at Brea Boulevard in Golden Springs.

Per a California Highway Patrol report, rescue workers took Mr. Chel to UC Irvine Medical Center for his injuries. Fortunately, they were not too severe. A CHP officer arrested him at the hospital for DUI. Mr. Chel had been off duty. No one else was hurt in the incident, no other vehicles suffered damage.

“Do you want fries with your DUI?”

The image of a rouge, off-duty LAPD officer smashing through a McDonald’s drive through while DUI sounds almost comical – like something you might see in a spoof movie. However, this incident obviously is no laughing matter. It does, however, allow us to segue into an interesting conversation about the relationship between DUI and food consumption. The rate at which your body processes alcohol depends on many factors, including:

•   Whether or not you eat a meal when you drink;
•   Your metabolic state;
•   Your genetics;
•   Whether you’re a man or a woman;
•   The amount of alcohol you’ve consumed recently and throughout your life — chronic alcohol consumption can also affect your metabolic rate.

Police officers are subject to the same exact DUI laws that citizens must obey, including California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) and 23152(b), and they, too, can face punishments such as DUI alcohol school, jail time, forced license suspension, and mandatory installation of an Interlock Ignition Device (IID). In addition, a police officer who violates the law – e.g. causes a catastrophic DUI accident — can lose job responsibilities and/or get fired. In fact, if the news reports prove accurate, it would highly unlikely that Mr. Chel would not face serious repercussions at his job — e.g. a suspension, if not an outright termination.

No matter what happened with respect to your Los Angeles DUI arrest, the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can provide a free, confidential case assessment. Mr. Kraut is a former Los Angeles prosecutor with relationships with many experts in the field, and he can help you contrive a smart and ethical defense.

Published on: March 21, 2014

Does “When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade” Apply to Your Los Angeles DUI?

by Michael Kraut

Before the police tagged you for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, you probably used to glibly give people advice along the lines of “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” In other words, when you face a difficult situation, see the best in it. Turn it into a positive. That advice is obviously well intended. But it’s not necessarily intuitive to implement.

Your DUI Arrest: Just When Things Were Already Bad, Now This!

Your arrest couldn’t have been more poorly timed. Perhaps you’ve been engrossed in a big project at work. Maybe you and your spouse have been “on the rocks,” relationship-wise. Or maybe your doctor just diagnosed serious health problem. The last thing on Earth that you need at this moment is a charge pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or 23153 (the injury DUI section – which escalates standard DUI charges to felony charges).

Point is, life has really thrown you a curve ball. Not every DUI occurs during “hard times.” But a surprising number of them do. Why is that?

Obviously, without accurate science, we can’t tease cause from effect. Perhaps DUI defendants notice their bad luck more when it comes packaged with criminal charges. Or perhaps life’s stresses somehow promote more dangerous driving behavior (on average, in the population).

What might the mechanism be, if that second hypothesis is correct?

Perhaps – and this is just speculation – but perhaps, stress and anxiety spark a desire to use medications or alcohol to numb the discomfort or at least diminish it somehow. In other words, maybe people who go through very stressful, anxious, or disruptive situations turn more frequently (and more heavily) to drinking and taking drugs and medications. That would explain why Los Angeles DUI events tend to correlate with “bad times” over all. Of course, there is a difference between this kind of speculation and clinical science, which requires far more vigorous testing and statistical analysis. And that points to a broader issue: the Southern California criminal defense system is an evidence based system. To prove (or defend against) a criminal charge, you need to submit evidence and outline a logically thorough, taut argument. You can’t speculate – or if you do speculate, the degree that you argue from indirect logic is the degree that your case can be seen as flimsy. It’s a lot easier to believe evidence to the effect of “you failed a Los Angeles breathalyzer test and blew a 0.11% twice” than it is to believe evidence like “you smelled a bit like alcohol and stumbled around.” The first statement contains far more objective proof than does the second, which uses inferences.

To build a steady and successful defense against your Los Angeles DUI charges, connect with Harvard Law School educated Attorney Michael Kraut and his team today for a free case evaluation.

Published on: March 20, 2014

Did Your Elderly Parent Get a DUI in Los Angeles?

by Michael Kraut

An older person that you love – a mother, father, aunt, uncle, or close friend – recently got arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles. You’d love to help that person deal with her situation. But you’re confused about how to approach the process respectfully.

On the one hand, the revelation that the police pulled him or her over on the 134 (or wherever) fills you with sadness and fear. What if she had really gotten hurt or hurt someone else?

On the other hand, you feel helpless. We all remember the horrendous incident several years ago when an octogenarian man plowed into a farmers market in Santa Monica and killed nearly a dozen people. The man thought he had hit the brakes, when he had really hit the accelerator. That incident sparked a big debate in the Southern California DUI defense community about what should be done to protect people from dangerous senior drivers.

Obviously, we want to dignify and respect older drivers and give them as much mobility and independence as possible. Nevertheless, if/when they can no longer physically operate their vehicles safely, something needs to be done.

Unfortunately, concerned children of elderly parents, for instance, are often unable to convince their moms and dads to stop driving — or even to at least adopt safer driving habits.

Discussions over something as seemingly innocent as how often your mother drives (and what she does behind the wheel) can quickly escalate and, like psychological fireworks, set off issues and hurtful conversations that date back decades.

So where can you begin?

Frankly, what you need most right now is guidance about the elder driver’s Los Angeles DUI situation. Call the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for responsible, simple and grounded advice about your case. Continue reading

Published on: March 14, 2014

Caught Driving a Truck While DUI in Los Angeles? Will You Lose Your License?

by Michael Kraut

If you drive a commercial vehicle, and you got busted for DUI in Los Angeles, you may face more than just the “work-a-day” DUI punishments – jail time, fines, loss of your license, probation, mandatory interlock ignition installation, etcetera. The arrest and potential conviction can derail or potentially end your career.

Obviously, the company that hired you needs to hew to the law, and they may not even be able to use your services, if the DUI charges stick. Even if they want to keep working with you, the cost to insure you will almost certainly spike, so you may find yourself getting fewer assignments.

And you probably don’t need to be reminded about this, but driving DUI while driving a large vehicle – especially a big commercial truck – is an extremely dangerous activity. Hopefully, you didn’t cause any serious injuries or deaths in the event that has led you to need legal help. If you didn’t, count your blessings. Trucks are much more massive than cars and motorcycles. As a result, they can impart tremendous force, even while traveling at relatively low speeds.

Of course, there’s no point in beating yourself up. What happened, happened. Whether police stopped you at a checkpoint, or you flipped your truck on the 101, spilling cargo into four lanes and causing a massive traffic jam that made the typical Sig Alert look like a drive down an empty stretch of a Montana highway, you need to manage your legal charges and also probe to understand what caused you to abuse alcohol or drugs (if you indeed did that).

Truckers face unique pressures, which can drive them to consume alcohol, take medications and cram down over the counter energy supplements. These include:

•   Loneliness and isolation from being on the road so long;
•   Anxiety about a new route or life issues;
•   A health problem that’s led to chronic pain and frustration – and that makes driving the truck intolerable unless you have something to “take the edge off”;
•   The real root cause might be far deeper than you realize (psychologically speaking).

All that said, you face a big practical concern: how can you construct a wise, effective commercial Los Angeles DUI defense? Look to the experienced and competent team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to create an appropriate defense for you. Mr. Kraut is an ex-prosecutor – a Harvard Law School educated former Deputy District Attorney for LA – and he is renowned for his consciences and thorough service.
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Published on: March 9, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Conundrum: What Should Be Done About “Mr. Checkpoint”?

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles DUI stakeholders – police, attorneys on both sides, judges, criminal defendants, and victims of DUI tragedies alike – don’t know what to make of a Twitter user who goes by the handle “Mr. Checkpoint.”

Also known as Sennett Devermont, the 25-year old Santa Monican has taken to calling himself “the drinking crowd’s Batman,” according to a recent article in the LA Weekly.

Devermont has over 42,000 followers on Twitter and an additional 20,000 text subscribers. His free cell phone app, Mr. Checkpoint, has been downloaded thousands of times. Why?

Devermont reveals the locations of upcoming Southern California DUI checkpoints.

Unsurprisingly, representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have been less than thrilled with Devermont’s mission. The Group’s Director of Communications, Anna Duerr, said “We don’t want apps out there that allow people to evade checkpoints.” MADD’s Regional Director for Los Angeles, Pat Rillera, told the LA Weekly: “While we support the publication of checkpoints as a deterrent to drunk driving, sites like Mr. Checkpoint alert drunk drivers so they can evade arrest. It’s not meant as a positive.”

Devermont disagrees. He’s found support from among many people who passionately want to punish DUI drivers and make streets safer. Defenders believe this app can deter people who are on the bubble from driving — that is, to encourage tipsy folks to take a cab, find a designated driver or walk home.

Devermont usually starts sending out his alerts during the evening, based on information provided by Sheriff and Police Departments in Los Angeles and San Diego. The app does have a box — which you must check — wherein you agree that you will not drive under the influence.

Devermont said he came up with the idea while enrolled at San Diego State University. Police pulled him over after a party. He was 18 at the time. Police forced him to go through the paces of several field sobriety tests. (These can include the finger to the nose test; the stand on one leg test; the count backwards by threes test and the horizontal gaze test).

Police told Devermont that he failed, but he hadn’t consumed any alcohol! When he blew into a breathalyzer, sure enough, he scored a 0.00 BAC. Still, he told the LA Weekly “it was humiliating and intimidating. I felt violated. After that, I looked up my rights.”

Do you need help understanding and protecting your rights after a Los Angeles DUI arrest? Please get in touch with Harvard Law School educated attorney, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, for a thorough, free consultation.

Published on: March 6, 2014

File Under: “Is This Really Happening?”– Police Defend Arrest of Black Man, Even After He Blew a 0.00% on Breath Test

by Michael Kraut

There’s no doubt that certain Los Angeles DUI cases are ambiguous.

Police should be entitled to some discretion when it comes to deciding whether to arrest people. If you look and act like you are DUI — and you blow a high number on your breath test — the police may have good cause to place you under arrest.

•   But what happens if you blow a 0.00 percent on your breath test?
•   What if a chemical test shows that you are literally stone cold sober?
•   And what if police arrest you anyway?
•   And what if you are black, and they arrest you for this “crime”?
•   And what if you are black, and they arrest you in Texas after blowing a 0.00 percent BAC, and then police still stand by the arrest months later?

If that scenario sounds fictional, think again.

Police in Austin arrested an African American man, Larry Davis, on January 13, 2013, after Davis ran a stop sign. Davis told police that he had only one drink of alcohol — and a breath test showed that he had a 0.00 percent BAC. He also volunteered to take a blood test. Weeks later, Davis’ blood test results came back showing exactly what he had insisted – there was zero alcohol in his system.

Nevertheless, Davis had to spend a whole day behind bars and deal with an arrest record that continued to dog him into 2014. To add insult to injury, Austin Police Commander, David Mahoney, told the local paper that he supported the officer’s decision to bust Davis for DUI: “if there’s someone who is possibly impaired, we don’t want them driving… we need to get them off the road, so that was probably the officer’s mindset.”

Statistically speaking, it’s easy to make a case that the Austin police are a bit “trigger happy,” when it comes to busting people for DUI. Travis County, Texas, has the highest DUI dismissal rate in Texas, per an Austin Statesman analysis — a whopping 30% of cases are dismissed.

That said, battling back against a DUI charge anywhere is neither simple, nor cheap.

First of all, the defendant must contend with direct costs, such as legal fees. The indirect costs can be far more pernicious. If you sit in jail for a day or two — or spend several days going back and forth to court — you waste many potential billable hours. That “time suck” alone can cost some people hundreds or thousands of dollars. Secondly, consider the indirect psychological and relationship costs. Many people are both judgmental and superficial. If police arrested you for DUI, others may judge you, even if the facts are totally on your side. Davis spoke to this frustration: “I was arrested for nothing, really… it was suspicion of drunk driving, which I wasn’t, so I am surprised and hurt at the same time.”

In Los Angeles, California police must respect your Fourth Amendment Rights. In other words, they must be able to justify stopping you by pointing to clear, easy to articulate facts about some criminal activity. It is possible to challenge probable cause by asking for a hearing per California Penal Code Section 1538.5.

The team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can assist. Attorney Michael Kraut is a former prosecutor who has a stellar reputation for helping clients like you with Los Angeles DUI defense.